The Savannah Chatham County Public School System Board of Education and Woodville Tompkins High School dedicated the school's new gym to Coach Joesph J. Turner on June 28, 2023, at WTHS. Turner was a well known and beloved physical education teacher, head football coach, basketball coach, track and field coach, and athletic director at Woodville Tompkins.
All you had to do was look around the Woodville-Tompkins High School auditorium to see how Coach Turner changed the lives of his students and the people in the Tompkins community in attendance. There were so many people there that there wasn't enough room for everyone during the renaming and unveiling of Coach Turner's bust in front of the gym's trophy case. At the ceremony, the auditorium was a sea of Wolverine colors, blue and white.
Various officials, from former Tompkins coach and Coach Turner's colleague Stanley Rivers, Tompkins alum, and 1960 Olympic gold medalist Lucinda Williams Adams to SCCPSS school board members, gave a brief word or memory about what Coach Turner stood for and meant to them or the school.
Lucinda Williams Adams, who Turner coached, told WJCL News reporter Dave Williams, "He saw the god-given talent that I had, he just nourished it, made us work hard, and he told us one day if you continue to do that that you're going to be successful."
Lucinda Williams Adams - Olympic Gold Medal Winner
Tompkins High School former standout football player Edwin Bailey (Class of 1977). Who earned a scholarship to South Carolina State and played 11 years
in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks. When contacted by the Prep Sports Report and asked what Coach Turner meant to him.
Bailey said, "Coach Turner made me develop the ability and techniques it took to play college football and play it at a high level!"
After the speeches, the big crowd moved to the front of the gym's trophies case to hear the resolution of the dedication to name the gym the Joesph J. Turner Gymnasium by Tompkins High School alum Brenda Roberts (Class of 1971) and the unveiling of the bust of Coach Turner.
After the dedication and before the bust was unveiled to the audience, his only grandchild representing the Turner family, Natasha Turner Alim, reflected on what it meant to be Coach Joe Turner's granddaughter. She was overcome by the warmth, the legacy of Joe Turner, and the community's love for her grandfather.
After the ceremony, Natasha told WJCL News reporter, Dave Williams, "It's as if I'm feeling my grandfather all over again by the love that everyone is pouring out, I'm just in awe, and I'm humbled that his legacy continues in such a way."
Natasha Turner Alim
Yes, Natasha, your grandfather's legacy, Coach Joe Turner, is now immortalized with this building, the Joe Turner Gymnasium on the campus of Woodville-Tompkins High School forever.
Coach Turner's Bio
Coach Turner stood out at Savannah State College before becoming a Tompkins high school teacher, football coach, and athletic director. At Savannah State, he was an all-conference football player. He captained the Savannah State College football team during the early 1950s and was the institution's Man of the Year in 1952.
After graduation, Turner accepted a coaching position at Tompkins high school. He coached football, basketball, and track as the Wolverine's coach. Turner's football teams won three state championships in 1960, 1961, and 1964 and five region championships in 1960, 1961, 1964,1967, and 1973. Coach TurnerCoach was named Georgia high school coach of the year seven times, featuring a won-loss-loss record of 204 wins, 101 losses, and four ties. Turner later served as athletic director until his retirement in 1981. From 1981 to 1989, he was the head coach at Savannah State as the head track and field coach at Savannah State.
Coach Turner is a member of the Savannah State Hall of Fame and the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame. Coach Turner coached a lot of outstanding athletes, including 1960 Olympic gold medalist Lucinda Williams Adams, NFL football players Johnny Holmes (Miami Dolphins - 1965), Hubert Ginn (Miami Dolphins 1970 - 1975, Oakland Raiders 1976 - 1978), and Edwin Bailey (Seattle Seahawks 1981 - 1991).
NOTE: Bio info from dedication program
